


Across the Abyss

by alittlepieceofgundamwing_archivist



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Angst, M/M, Romance, Yaoi, by Lyssira
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-06
Updated: 2013-03-06
Packaged: 2019-03-27 22:37:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13890594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alittlepieceofgundamwing_archivist/pseuds/alittlepieceofgundamwing_archivist
Summary: by Lyssira--He'd never felt as lonely as this, hearing only his own footsteps.





	Across the Abyss

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Dacia, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [A Little Piece of Gundam Wing](https://fanlore.org/wiki/A_Little_Piece_Of_Gundam_Wing), which closed in 2017. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after July 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [a little piece of gundam wing collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/alittlepieceofgundamwing/profile).

Shadows from enormous buildings loomed around the boy as he paced the sidewalk. They stretched higher and higher into the sky till light seemed blocked out by the sheer mass of them. Day or night, the sun was forgotten by those streets and the many mindless souls who wandered them. He trudged among them every day as they journeyed to work, to their homes and back again. Their endless march unnerved him. Their set, structured purpose he envied to the core of his heart. What he would give for an actual reason to exist. To have friends and loved ones. To be able to reach out and touch someone without worrying about being recognized. Those fools did not realize their fortune.

The moon, dusky in the polluted haze hovered above them that night, once lovely in her ghostly beauty, now forgotten. Violet eyes gazed upon her for long moments. She watched as they bustled like a nest of ants below. She could see those born, those dying on the Earth and the Colonies. There was no distinction between. People on Earth changed and evolved. Those in space danced their same steps. He'd seen them both, hated them both and loved them. He'd loved their smiles and their happiness.

Duo listened to his own sneakers pad against the sidewalk. The city had quieted for the night, as only a sleeping town could. They did not share the raucous noise of the huge metropolises to the West where none rested. This place closed her doors at night and its people gathered around tables and televisions. Silence reigned and stillness, not a creature other than himself stirring, descended upon them. A car passed by every once and again. Strangers loomed in dark alleyways and watched those few who straggled behind the masses. But other than, it was quiet.

He'd never felt as lonely as this, hearing only his own footsteps.

There were few times when he was truly alone. Falling asleep at night, waking each morning. After that he could pretend throughout the day and into the night. Now, there was no fooling anyone. He was solitary in a world of families, best friends, lovers and comrades. He would never hold hands with another, never have a friend to whisper secrets to, never have parents to wish him goodnight or even to worry when he missed his curfew. Those things were denied and it would always be so.

It was how it should be.

A pair of footsteps joined his own on the concrete. They were light and cautious, like his own. In the rush of thousands they would have been lost easily. Yet, Duo could hear them now, heard the light tap of shoes behind him just after his own steps. He did not turn or speak. His pulse quickened. Had he been discovered? He rapidly turned down an alleyway, cursing his foolishness. What can of idiot makes himself vulnerable in the dark? It did not take an OZ assassin to bring him down, a mere thug could prove to be just as lethal.

His shadow followed him into the alley, splashing stale rainwater in its haste. He scanned the brick wall at the end thoughtfully. How utterly convenient. Duo scaled a nearby fire-escape, thanking whatever benevolent power that watched over him. Death? Would the Reaper be his ally again? He neared the top quickly, lean muscles stretching and appreciating the exercise. It took more than a short chase to wear him out nowadays. Pent-up energy was not useless, not at all.

He heard the soft protest of the bars below him as they accepted more weight. The wrought iron ladders were hardly ever used anymore. People were more likely to be caught in an office fire than a house one. The office was more of home anyway. Duo kept his eyes on the moon as he climbed higher and higher over the abyss. He wondered, absently, if he could reach the heavens. A staircase to the stars. His pursuer had gained no ground, obviously in no hurry to catch him. This predator had patience, more than he ever would. It seemed an eternity before his feet touched the roof of that mountain high building. He glanced down at the alley, now no more than a thin line of concrete. It looked more like a child's toy road than real stones.

Nonetheless, should he fall, the braided boy knew he'd find they were as real as they were hard. The shadow continued its climb after him, well aware its quarry had no exit route. Duo smirked to himself, saluting the figure below.

His gaze drifted back to the moon. Her light had never wavered in all the times he watched. His life depended that it did not now. Duo crept to the other side of the flat roof, eyes intent on the next building over. He slipped a grappling hook from his pocket-an everyday necessity of course-and aimed its claw across the way. The rattles of the fire escape drew nearer and louder as he released the catch.

A tousled head had appeared by the time he swung across, feeling gravity tug on his body as he flew over the deep cavern between those steel-stone giants. He relished the sensation of freedom for a moment, forgetting the great height and sound building on the other side. This was as close as man would ever get to flight. And Duo savored every moment, every second spent uninhibited in the cool night air. All too soon, his feet set down on another fire escape, this one sturdier, and his journey began upwards again.

He stood, hair flapping madly behind him on that roof and met his almost-assailant's eyes from his side. He watched them narrow, could barely see the brows draw together in a glare. The next thing Duo knew, the shadowy being that had been trailing him launched itself into the air, swift as a hawk in flight over a canyon. He waited for the sickening image on a tiny crumpled form on the streets below but it never came.

Two muscular hands gripped the edge of his roof tightly, veins bulging from the strain. Yet it was no time at all before another boy stood there, Prussian eyes meeting Duo's, dirty yellow sneakers beside his own black ones on the concrete. Heero shivered in his tank-top clad state, used to the carefully measured warmth of the colonies. But no comment was made; he managed to look just as deadly in that tacky, inadequate outfit as any soldier in a uniform.

"You're running again," a deep monotone stated calmly.

"Always," Duo's lips twisted bitterly.

"You don't have to."

"Don't I?" he asked, stuffing trembling hands deep in his pockets.

A familiar muscular, bronze arm wrapped around him carefully, awkwardly. Heero knew no more how comfort a friend than a fish knew how to fly a mobile suit. He might have known the right words but gestures and physical contact were beyond him. Duo accepted it, however stiffly, and turned questioning eyes to the taller boy. He demanded an answer without words, violet pools narrowed.

"No one ever said this would be easy," Heero pointed out, "We all accepted the job."

The braided pilot grunted something unintelligible in response.

"But just because we accepted it, doesn't mean we're stuck with it," his friend continued quietly.

Duo glanced up at him sharply.

"If you want to leave for good, I won't stop you."

He choked harshly, not quite believing what he'd heard from the stoic pilot. "But Heero..what about the mission? What about obstacles...If I go free..." he babbled.

"I trust you."

He might have turned to leave them, but pale hands gripped his tanktop almost desperately. Heero raised a questioning eyebrow at his partner. He might have smiled at the stunned, stupefied look of Duo's face. But he mirrored that expression quickly enough, startled by warm lips reaching for his own chilled ones. Duo's kiss burned against his skin for many more moments, even when the frosty breeze brushed against it. A branding iron seemed to have touched him, though there was no pain.

A coarse chuckle broke the silence.

"You look like you've swallowed a live fish, Yuy," the braided boy smiled. His response was a fierce embrace not unlike his own, just as warm. A callused hand cupped his cheek and Duo nuzzled the palm gently. Heero jumped in surprise, blue eyes wide and shocked liked they'd never been. He looked, for all the world, like a child.

"You alright?"

Heero nodded slowly and bent his head to kiss Duo again, learning the feeling of warm lips under his and soft skin against his fingertips. He slid his other arm around the boy's waist, bringing them even closer. The touch seemed like nothing he'd ever experienced before. It reminded Duo of flying, uninhibited and free. There were no restrictions here. Gravity had lost its power. They'd left earth and colonies for a while, while the moon watched above.

Only when snow began to fall did the spell break, bright, silvery flakes coating lashes and bangs. Heero pulled away for a moment and reached into a concealed holster at his back. The gun, one that held a bullet for Duo Maxwell, lay cold and real in his hands. Those same hands had touched the braided boy just heartbeats ago.

He let the metal fall into the abyss, watched until it was only another shadow in the gloom of the buildings.

*All obstacles have been eliminated.*

Duo smiled slightly. Heero understood.

They walked away from the world above those streets, hand in hand.

end


End file.
